The Difference Between Comfort And Love
by storyofeden
Summary: Brennan and Booth work things out. But is it Comfort? Or is it Love?


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**Author's Note: I'd like to thank written in dreams for her wonderful beta-ing. And...listening to my pseudo-ramblings.**

**Also, I'd like to thank Mollie, who is currently being difficult and refusing to tell me her FF name, but who will continue to help me never-the-less. ****Even when we can't function because things are too close to home.**

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**This chapter was brought to you by: Bound To Happen, by The Spill Canvas**

**Now, please enjoy. :]**

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Temperance Brennan walked into bones storage, her silver heels clicking in the otherwise silent room. After looking at her watch, she proceeded to lay out the bones for Jane Doe, Number 881-9150.

It was currently 3:15am, which meant that she could put in three hours of work before she had to go home, shower, and come back.

The shower, she figured, would be a must, considering she was not dressed appropriately for work. Or rather, for her current line of work. Date attire was not work attire.

A deep purple dress hugged her body, showing off deep curves. The neckline was a little too low, and the hem fell a little too high above her knee. It wasn't something Dr. Temperance Brennan would have been seen in, but her date, Joey, seemed to have enjoyed it.

He showed her his appreciation.

Before dinner. In the cab on the way to his apartment. And twice once they entered the door.

Joey had had a fabulous time on the date, thinking he had finally found the perfect woman: someone who was carefree, uninhibited, and sexy. But Joey, like Brian, Scott, Wilson, Elliot, and the dozens before them, would not be seeing her again.

She finished laying the skeleton out and began her examination…

After sex, she would lay in their arms long enough for them to fall asleep. Then, she would methodically redress, collect her things, and sneak out the door.

When Booth told her about Hannah, she felt a very…uncomfortable feeling. Something she couldn't name or describe. That night, she had gone out to a bar, without Angela's having to beg, and accepted the invitation of the first guy who showed interest.

She wanted that feeling back. The feeling she had always had with him. She wanted comfort.

Or rather, she had. After the first few weeks, this…lifestyle choice hadn't done anything for her. The feeling wasn't there.

She looked at her watch; it was approaching 5:30am. Usually, by this point, Booth would have known, somehow, that she was in bones storage, and he would have busted in with coffee. Usually, she would have had dinner with him, instead of some random guy, and they would have talked late into the night.

That, however, was before Hannah. She liked Hannah, she did. She simply…missed the way things used to be.

_Look at that_, she thought. _Temperance Brennan missing the past. A marvel._

Since comfort hadn't been what Booth brought, she had tried to figure out what it was exactly she felt with him. The only thing she could come up with, however, was impossible.

Finishing up what she was doing, Brennan took off her gloves, collected her belongings from her office, and quickly left the Jeffersonian before the sun rose.

After hailing a cab and arriving at her apartment, she entered and immediately took her shoes off, letting them simply lay by the front door.

Taking her earrings off and entering her bedroom, she was about to undo the zipper on her dress when she heard a knock on the door. Not recognizing it as anyone's she knew, she quickly made her way through the living room and calmly opened the door.

"Hey, Bones! How's it going?" Booth said, inviting himself into the apartment and handing her a cup of coffee.

Brennan closed the door, but stood rooted to her spot, seemingly unable to move.

Booth turned to face her and finally noticed what she was wearing. Briefly, she could see fear, surprise, and confusion cross his face. And something close to concern flashed in his eyes for a moment, but she dismissed it.

"Rough night?" Booth joked, recovering quickly.

"Actually, the night was good. The morning, however, was the rough part." Brennan retorted.

Booth's lack of response, and the look on his face, told her all she needed to know.

"Look, Booth, we know you're not here just to bring me coffee."

"Would you believe that I was in just in the area?" he asked hopefully, but the look in Brennan's eyes told him her answer. "I'm just…worried about you, Bones."

"Why?" she asked bluntly.

Looking at her incredulously, Booth had no response.

"Booth, thank you for the coffee, but I really have to get ready for work. So, if you'll excuse yourself, I'll see you at work," she tried to dismiss him, reaching for the door.

"You didn't sleep last night."

Pausing, she straightened, and looked him in the eyes. "No, I didn't."

"When's the last time you got a full night's sleep?"

"Um…" she started.

"When's the last time you saw anyone from the lab that was still alive?"

"Well…"

"When's the last time you got home before 3:00am?"

Brennan averted her eyes, uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. She had seen Booth do dozens of interrogations, but this was different. He wasn't trying to pry information of her, the suspect. Instead, his tone was softer, more caring.

"Bones…talk to me. Please," Booth pleaded. They hadn't talked, really talked, in weeks.

"No, I didn't sleep last night. I was out. The last time I got a full night's sleep was a while ago. I saw Angela yesterday for lunch. And I haven't been home before three because I've been working in Limbo."

"You haven't been working looking like that, Bones. You have more respect than that."

"I've been going out with different guys. When the night is over, I go to bone storage and I put in a little work. Why do you care? Are you allowed to have sex with someone, and I am not?"

"Bones," Booth looked at her incredulously. "I'm in a committed relationship."

"Ah, yes. That," was Bones' only response.

A silence descended upon them. The tension in the room was so thick it was palpable.

"Why are you doing this, Bones? You're running yourself ragged…"

"Because," she shrugged and wrapped her arms around herself. "I needed comfort."

"Comfort? Comfort? For what?"

"You changed your mind…" she said in a small voice Booth had never heard before.

"I…what?"

"You moved on. It's not rational for me to be upset, but I am. I realize that I don't understand feelings very well, but I felt a certain way around you. I am trying to get that feeling back somehow."

"So…you're sleeping around?"

"I believe we covered that sleeping isn't what I've been doing."

"Bones….You think that you will find that feeling this way?" Booth tried to ease into it.

"At first I did. I wanted the comfort back. The easiness of simply being with the other person. I missed that," she tried to explain.

"What you want isn't comfort, Bones…"

"I know that now."

"Then why don't you stop?"

"I don't want to."

Booth was about out of wits because of this woman.

"What can I do, Bones?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"Nothing."

"Bullshit. Why not?"

"You're with Hannah."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Booth asked, stunned.

"Everything," Brennan said.

"Bullshit, again. What does me being with Hannah have to do with anything?"

"I love you," she let slip, her brain moving too fast for her filter to set in.

Silence filled the room.

"…you know. In an atta-boy kind of way," Brennan backpedaled.

"Oh…right. Well. I love you, too…atta-girl." Booth responded.

Both of them knew what the other meant.

Both of them knew what the other wasn't saying.

"So…I'll see you at work?" Booth asked, heading for the door.

"Of course," she opened the door for him and watched as he retreated down the hallway. "Hey, Booth?"

"Yeah, Bones?" he asked, turning around.

"We're…okay, right?"

"Of course, Bones. We're always okay."

Satisfied, he turned away and she closed the door.

For the first time in a while, Brennan smiled to herself.

The feeling was back.

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